


When the End Begins

by dhazellouise



Series: Hermione's Harem [8]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-19
Updated: 2016-10-22
Packaged: 2018-08-23 08:49:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8321566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dhazellouise/pseuds/dhazellouise
Summary: "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches, born to the kind of whom he so despise, born as the seventh month dies…" –The day she is born marks the end and the beginning of a story that was never hers. In another life, perhaps, she isn't the prophesied child, but in this one, she is...(a story where Hermione is the Chosen One)(GreyHermione), (DarkishDumbledore)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:** Harry is born on September 19, 1979. The same with Neville Longbottom. Hermione Granger is born on July 31, 1980. I know. I switch the dates. This will make Harry and Neville nearly ten months older than Hermione. Anyway, this story will be written in drabble-like form. As always, the world and the characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

.

**Hog's Head Inn**

**June 30, 1980**

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…born to the kind of whom he so despise, born as the seventh month dies…and the Dark Lord will mark him as _his_ equal in every way. He will have power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…."

Dumbledore's scalp prickled, the hair on his arms rose up as he listened to Sybil Trelawney reciting a prophecy about a boy, who would put an end to Tom Riddle's reign of terror.

He couldn't quash the feelings of hope surging in him as the seer recited the prophecy for the second time.

Trelawney's eyes remained unseeing, her face blank.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…born to the kind whom the Dark Lord despise, born as the seventh month dies…"

.

Standing in a flight of stairs that led to the upper floors of the Hog's Head Inn, Severus Snape was able to hear parts of the conversation, as well as the unexpected prophecy that the woman had started spouting.

He had been hanging carefully to Trelawney's words, and committing everything to memory, when Aberforth – the owner of the Hog's Head Inn, and Dumbledore's brother – saw him and suddenly started manhandling him away from the stairs.

"What are you doing here?!" Aberforth growled, taking him by the arm and began pulling him out of hearing range.

"What is your business here this time of night?"

Severus, of course, had come prepared with an alibi to explain his presence if he was caught eavesdropping.

He shook his arm off from the other man and turned to face him.

"I had come for Dumbledore. I have an urgent message that I must deliver to him in person lest –"

"FOOL!" Aberforth burst out without warning, pushing and hauling him towards the door. "If you need to talk to Albus, you best wait in Hogwarts! These are dark times, and dark matters are better left spoken in secure location where there are no ears on the walls. Now, get out!"

Aberforth threw him out the door.

But Severus didn't do as the old man had suggested. He didn't wait for Dumbledore in Hogwarts, instead he immediately disappeared and reported back to his Master.

.

"Severus, what is it do you want?" Voldemort asked, drumming his long fingers against the armrest. Red eyes staring at the man kneeling before him.

"My Lord, I came to report of matters that might be _...relevant_ to our cause." Severus began, keeping his head bowed. "I have followed Dumbledore to the Hog's Head Inn, where he met the seer – Sybil Trelawney – and heard a prophecy that you might find interesting."

"Prophecy?" Voldemort sat up straight. "A prophecy about what?"

"The prophecy of a child that was said to have an unknown power to defeat you."

Voldemort stiffened at the news. His mind came to a screeching halt.

There was an unsettling silence that followed.

Severus didn't look up as he waited for the Dark Lord to respond.

"Are you able to remember the prophecy, Severus? Word for word?" Voldemort asked in a slow, icy tone.

"Yes,"

"Let me hear it then."

Severus recited it to him.

.

" _ **The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…born to the kind of whom he so despise, born as the seventh month dies…and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal in every way. He will have power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…."**_

.

Voldemort sat there, silently contemplating what this prophecy could do to his plans, plans that he had already set in motion.

He didn't really believe in prophecies. However, if this child had an unknown power to defeat him, Voldemort couldn't very well ignore it.

Apart from Albus Dumbledore, he needed to make certain that there was no one out there who would dare oppose him.

He won't leave it to chance.

The child must die.

It didn't take him long when a plan began to form in his mind.

The only way to know about a child born at the end of July - other than the birth registry in the hospitals all across Great Britain, or even perhaps the world - was the Book of Admittance within one of the towers at Hogwarts.

The book that would report the birth of a magical child, as confirmed and written by the Quill of Acceptance.

"Severus, I want you to find a way to enter the tower that has the Book of Admittance. Keep a constant eye on it and make sure that you check if the _Quill of Acceptance_ has written any name on the book by the end of July, or even afterwards."

"I understand, my Lord."

_Born to the kind of whom he so despise._

From the seer's words, Voldemort deduced that the prophecy spoke of a child, who would either be a half-blood, or the son of a blood traitor. Voldemort refused to believe that it was a mudblood since the prophecy had clearly stated that the child had the power that Voldemort was unaware of.

It meant that the child must have magic in their blood.

"One more thing, Severus. If a name is, indeed, written on the Book of Admittance, then you must verify that the child is born on the exact day, and whether he is a half-blood or born from bloodtraitors. Once you have confirmed it, I want you to search for his location and report back to me."

"Yes, my Lord." Severus replied in a monotonous voice.

It was a daunting task to be sure, but one Severus must do to serve his master.

"I will do everything you ask of me, my Lord."

.

After Severus was gone, Voldemort called his other Death Eaters who had connection to other Wizarding Schools from all across the world. He ordered them to contact the Headmasters or Headmistresses of the schools, and used whatever means necessary - blackmail, death threats or whatever diabolical concoction they could come up with – to get information.

Other than the Book of Admittance and the Quill of Acceptance, the other Wizarding schools had their own methods in knowing the birth of a magical child, who deserved to be admitted in their school once they were of age.

Voldemort was going to fully exploit the Wizarding Schools Admission System.

.

Later that night, Severus decided to meet up with Dumbledore at Hogwarts. This was as good as any to enter the Castle and cast a spell around the tower containing the Book of Admittance and the Quill of Acceptance.

For certain Aberforth must have already informed Dumbledore that he had spotted Severus at the Hog's Head Inn.

In which case, Severus would have to meet the Headmaster and give him a piece of information as he had them believe.

"What were the important thing that you wanted to tell me, Severus?" came Albus Dumbledore's question while he sat back in his high back chair, with his hands entwined in front of him.

The head master's eyes held no warmth for Severus as he met his stare unflinchingly above the wizard's half-moon glasses.

"The Dark Lord knows about the prophecy, Dumbledore." Severus began. "He has an informant who had used the seer's Aunt to extract the memory of her hearing the prophecy in passing. The Dark Lord has been informed of the child."

It was half the truth. The informant had only heard about Sybil's Aunt mentioning about her niece spouting out prophecy about the Dark Lord, but never the exact detail, which was why Severus was sent to confirm this before he could inform the Dark Lord, and Severus had trailed after the woman when she went to the Hogshead Inn and listen to her supposed job interview.

Dumbledore's deep, piercing blue eyes stared straight into Severus'.

Carefully, and with expert subtlety, Severus kept his mind completely calm and blank. He hid those fleeting images of him talking to the Dark Lord.

"Why have you come to inform me about this, Severus? Now…after all this time?"

Severus was prepared with yet another explanation if Dumbledore wasn't easily convince. He knew Dumbledore was a sentimental fool, and everyone remembered Severus Snape for carrying a blazing torch for a certain redhead muggleborn when he was at school, and added to that, was the fact that Severus was still in love with the woman. Surely, Dumbledore would believe him if he let his emotions show in this case?

"For Lily…." Even until now, saying her name out loud made Severus' chest constrict, his throat to tighten with an emotion that he had become familiar with - bitterness, but also savage, and terrible longing.

_Lily.._

"It's for her…" Severus said, swallowing audibly, trying to shake off the lingering emotion that rush through him. Despite that, however, the knot in his chest remained, as if the wound of Lily's decision would forever remain fresh and aching.

Hidden beneath the long sleeves of his robes, his hands were clenched into fists.

"I couldn't care less what happens to her son and husband. But I want you to do everything you can to protect Lily Evans, Dumbledore…"

His voice cracked at the end, inspite of the fact that he was there for another reason altogether, and not really for the woman who rejected him.

Yet…it was always Lily who elicited these unwanted emotions from him – emotions that remained unrequited.

He was a fool for still loving a woman who was already taken.

"Protect her at all cost. _I beg of you_ …"

.

Severus had been sincere about his thoughts regarding Lily's protection. Perhaps it was the reason that Dumbledore had easily believed him.

And also, because Dumbledore had given him a mission.

Severus was asked to spy for the Order: to become a double agent.

Since it was the only way to keep up with his deception, he had agreed.

Afterward, Severus bid his farewell and did what he came to do.

Sticking to the shadowed halls of the castle, he found a way to enter the tower that had the magical Book and the Quill, without raising an alarm.

Hastily, he cast a spell and planted – of what looked to be a drawing of an eye and only visible by its maker – on the wall that would give him the entire view of the room, as well as allow him to peer closely and read what the Quill of Acceptance would write on the Book of Admittance.

Severus had then cast another spell that would instantly notify him when the Quill started moving, without the need to be physically present within the room.

And as swift as he arrived, and silent as death, Severus slipped out from the castle like a shadow in the night.

.

Later, through the eye on the wall, Severus saw Dumbledore casting a detection charm around the tower, as if to remove hidden spells that were already put in place.

Fortunately, the spell that Severus had cast was of his own making; it was simple, undetectable, where he only could see, yet very powerful.

After deducing that there were no spells at work within the tower, Dumbledore cast his own spell – a different kind than Severus' _eye_ – but with the same intent.

It looked like Dumbledore had the same thought as Voldemort, to make use of the Book of Admittance and Quill of Acceptance to know the name of the child.

Now, the waiting begins.

.

At exactly midnight, as the clock struck twelve, it was the end of July.

The day when the prophesied child was said to be born.

The first one, who would be able to get a hold of the child, would have the power to end or win the war.

.

Severus was at his home.

The clock said it was already 3:33 am when his ' _Hidden Eye'_ notified him that the Quill of Admittance was already moving – no, _writing –_ on the Book of Admittance.

He muttered a spell to connect his vision with the _eye_. A heartbeat later, Severus observed how the magical Quill scribbled on the yellowing pages of the Book of Admittance.

He frowned when he saw the name.

It wasn't a _**he**_ like the prophecy had said.

But a _**she.**_

…

_**Hermione Jean Granger** _


	2. Downfall

.

The prophecy was a tricky thing.

Ambiguous at best.

And therein lay, the crux of the matter.

Nonetheless, Severus wasn't going to stay put simply because the name was female.

He would search for the child and verify that she was born from those whom the Dark Lord despised, either she was a daughter of a blood traitor or a half-blood.

But considering that he had never heard her family name before, she must be…

A _muggleborn._

One of the kind whom the Dark Lord had left out from the list, perhaps dismissing them as too low to even have the possibility to defeat him.

An oversight which would certainly cost the Dark Lord direly.

Not unless Severus brought this to the Dark Lord's attention.

.

During his inquiries, Severus didn't find her records in St. Mungo's birth registry. But when he had finally gotten a hold of it in the Muggle's Statistical Office, he had been too late.

Dumbledore had gotten to the child first, which was the only confirmation that Severus needed to know the girl was, indeed, the child from the prophecy.

So far, the Quill of Acceptance had only written one name that day, and neither had he heard anything from the healer at St. Mungo's to tell him that a child was born under the specific category that he had provided.

Severus suspected the Head Master to have acquired the names of all pregnant women who were expected to give birth around that month.

As to how Dumbledore manage to accomplish the feat in such a short time, Severus could only surmise that the Order leader's vast connection had contributed to his immediate success in obtaining those records.

Admittedly, Severus had been bested, and now, he dreaded the moment when he would report back to the Dark Lord.

He knew Lord Voldemort would not take this well.

.

As expected, the Dark Lord was livid, to say the least, about this turn of events.

Fortunately for him, Lord Voldemort was more furious about Dumbledore and the mudblood child, than he was with Severus, leaving him mostly unpunished for his failure.

He could sense the Dark Lord's surprise after he had told him about the girl's origin. And then, he had felt the wizard's seething, malevolent rage as if this fact alone had been the last insult to Lord Voldemort's existence; to have his greatest rival be a muggleborn, a female, and plus, an infant no less –the whole humiliating package - would prove to be a laughing matter in some circles within the Death Eater ranks.

The others would talk behind Lord Voldemort's back, there was no doubt about that. Others would only assume the worst and would think the Dark Lord too frightened of the child if they realized the true nature of the search, as surely as if the Dark Lord had announced to all of them that he had planned to murder a defenseless infant.

Certainly, many would think the Dark Lord a coward, though they would not dare say it to his face.

These thoughts must what made the Dark Lord decide to keep this fact undisclosed, and only divulge this to his most loyal followers.

Severus was one of the eight, whom the Dark Lord had called upon. The others, Lucius Malfoy, the Lestranges - Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange – and Evan Rosier, Clifford Mulciber and finally Llyod Nott, were the only ones who knew about the prophecy, and of the girl.

All eight of them were ordered to look for her and all returned with nothing.

.

It was not until four months later, when Peter Pettigrew sought a private audience with the Dark Lord that they discovered where Dumbledore had hidden her away.

As Severus listened to Peter Pettigrew recount what Dumbledore had done, his face lost its color, becoming pale. His mind a whirlwind of frantic thoughts while a deluge of emotions lashed at him like a tidal wave, leaving him adrift, not knowing what to do next, and torn apart by loyalties that he began to question.

"So that is where Dumbledore has hidden her all along, I see."

Distantly, Severus heard the Dark Lord remarked to Peter Pettigrew.

_The rat!_

Severus' stomach churned, any other thoughts that he might have in that instance were completely drowned by the surge of fear and anxiety that swept through him.

Severus was frightened. More than he wanted to show.

Not for his life, but for someone else's.

Sooner that Severus would have like; Voldemort was already giving out his orders.

"Peter, I want you to lead them out of the house - and anyone who plans to interfere from the Order - to an ambush." Voldemort commanded as he sat on his throne-like chair. "Lie to them if you must, and direct them to where four of my Death Eaters are lying in wait at a muggle village. Bella will show you where it is. Remember it clearly Peter, as you are going to lead our enemy to that area. The village will be a perfect battleground where the Order members have more reason to be cautious than any other place, with them trying to reduce the damage and death count to a minimum if muggles are to be involve."

Severus was white as sheet by this time, his entire body growing cold by the second as he continued to listen to Voldemort speak.

"I will kill the child without anyone interfering. Do you understand Peter? Do you understand everything that I've ordered you to do?" Voldemort asked the small man in front of him.

Peter Pettigrew was cowering, nibbling his nails like a rat that he was.

"Yes, my lord." The small man squeaked, his wide, watery eyes were gleaming in part anticipation and part fear.

Severus wanted to kill him.

And as the Dark Lord was about to leave that night, desperation prompted Severus to act.

"My Lord," Severus said, his voice hoarse, cracking at the edges, nearly choking with his turbulent emotions. Swallowing, he immediately knelt down in front of the Dark Lord in supplication, his forehead touching the cold floor. "If you could spare a moment, please hear me out…"

Yet Severus knew, _he knew_ , in the roiling depths of his mind, there was no amount of interference, or any kind of machinations on his part, that could stop the cruel Fates from doing as they pleased.

Everything had been decided – _no_ , _prophesied,_ Severus would soon realize, a little too late. And soon, he would be alone with the decisions that he had made, and would forever regret for the rest of his life.

_Always._

.

"Step aside!" Voldemort snapped impatiently, his voice like a crack of thunder in the gloom. His bony, white wand leveled at the woman who stood protecting the infant in the crib. "Severus has asked me not to kill you, but if you continue to defy me, I will not hesitate – "

"Please, don't! Not her!" the red-haired woman begged. Her pathetic, weaponless hand lifted up in appeal and defense, as if to stop him from coming closer to the child behind her.

"Not my daughter! She's only a baby! My baby! Please!"

Through the dimly-lit room, the woman's tears glimmered like fine-cut diamonds as it rolled down her cheeks; her emerald eyes swimming, _gleaming_ with a wealth full of emotions, rich with her anguish, her helplessness, and her maternal instinct to protect the babe that was not truly hers.

If only the woman knew that her emotions were misplaced; her begging wasted - _useless,_ given to an infant unworthy of any of those luxuries, much less deserving a chance at life.

"She is not your daughter, foolish woman! Now, stand aside!" Voldemort's voice, though even, cut like a deadly steel; its edges razor sharp. But his patience was wearing thin.

A momentary confusion fleeted on the woman's eyes, a faint knit of her brows was the only temporary crack on her alabaster face, but needlessly to say, she seemed to ignore his words and resumed her begging, "Please! Not her! Not my Hermi–"

Voldemort's patience finally snapped, his ruby-tinted eyes flaring - _burning_ with menace, with tempered violence.

And with a twist of his wand, he said, "Avada Kedavra!"

At once, the room was bathed with a green light as the killing curse shot out from his wand.

"NO!" the woman shouted, half-turning towards the crib in the last effort to save the child.

_How little it will do her._

"HER - MYYY – NEEE!"

Her voice seemed to echo, drawn out at the last syllable, a tune almost melodious when the killing curse slammed into her. The force of it pushed her savagely against the crib. It shook at the impact. The woman's terrified scream was cut off instantly and her emerald eyes were aglow, as if she had captured the killing curse in her gaze.

An unearthly stillness and quiet followed, that the sound of a needle dropping would have been deafening, right before the woman's body crumbled on the floor with a finality of a death knell.

"The girl is not your daughter." Voldemort informed her coldly, observing as the light from the woman's eyes slowly stuttered out, until he could no longer see a soul peering out at him from those killing-curse-eyes.

"You died for no reason at all other than to protect a child who is not yours. You died for the wrong child."

He didn't know whether the woman heard his final words or not, but it brought him immense satisfaction to see her gone, her annoying voice finally silenced at last.

Voldemort stared at her for a second. The mudblood's crimson hair was fanned out around her as she lay there staring emptily at the ceiling, her hair like the color of spilled blood on the carpeted floor.

 _A pity… Severus was so adamant to save you._ Voldemort thought in complete detachment, stepping around the dead woman. _But you were in my way, and_ _ **that**_ , _is something I can't accept. No matter how much Severus had beg me to spare you._

His ruby gaze landed on the infant, where a pair of curious eyes stared back at him.

 _And you,_ _ **you**_ _are an obstacle that I have yet to destroy._ Voldemort halted in front of the infant.

At around six months old, there was nothing remarkable about her.

He took note of her brown hair - which was beginning to curl on her small head - a pair of brown eyes, and even browner skin.

Everything about her was brown, like the color of mud, or the dirt beneath his feet, or perhaps the color of freshly-dug earth, where he supposed, the girl would end up. Dead like the woman who had tried to protect her.

In silence, Voldemort continued to inspect her, trying to discover what set her apart from the other children.

To his greatest disappointment, he saw nothing.

There was nothing about her that could threaten his very existence.

_Nothing at all._

_Regardless…_

Voldemort pointed his wand at the infant's chest.

The girl simply stared right back, remaining curious and unafraid.

 _She might become a thorn on my side if I allow her to live and grow,_ Voldemort thought and there was not a hint of remorse in his gaze when he finally uttered the killing curse.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Once more, the room was illuminated with an eerie, vibrant green.

.

Almost in slow motion, Voldemort watched as another color bloomed in the girl's ordinary, brown eyes.

It was the reflection of death as it came for her in the color of green.

.

He remembered the emerald jet of light hitting the infant, even recalled the child's piercing cry. He remembered it so vividly that he knew it was real - that _this_ was real.

But then, to his complete and absolute horror, the curse rebounded.

 _Impossible,_ was the only thing his astonished mind could muster, in that split second, as the killing curse barreled back towards him.

In all his years as the most feared Dark Wizard of all time, Voldemort was hit by a killing curse – a killing curse of his own making.

There was an explosion that took half of the house.

And then, agony - sheer, utter, excruciating pain that could only be felt when his soul fragmented. It enveloped his entire being, ripping him apart and shredding his corporeal form into smithereens.

An agony that was so unlike he had experience when he had made his horcruxes.

He was in pieces, in tatters.

Voldemort felt himself die.

He sensed Death's unwelcome embrace.

And frightened of this, Voldemort fled, swiftly slipping out from Death's cold and deadly fingers.

Voldemort caught a last glimpse of the child crying in the crib just before he disappeared.

The girl was still alive.

At the sight of her still seemingly unharmed, all-consuming hatred simmered beneath the surface of what he had turned into - _a shade,_ and Voldemort vowed he would find another way to kill the girl once he regained his power

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Sacrificial Protection - sources: Harry Potter wiki)
> 
> Author's Note: I have this story outline completely. Though not the details, but I have it outline maybe up to thirty chapters in bullet form. I did plan to post this story in that way before (with more grammatical errors and all) and post it together with the other story plots that I haven't publish yet, in the hope that someone would write them. However, I've decided to write it instead (I don't plan to have my stories adopted, even if it's not updated in quite some time) And so here it is, the story which I hope you will find interesting (?)


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